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Beer Illuminati

The collaboration with one of craft beers most notorious breweries, Russian River, is up next. They chose to collaborate with Sierra Nevada on a Belgian Style Blonde, or more a Belgian Pale Ale really. This is another one I was a bit disappointed by the style choice, why not an American Wild or a even a Belgian Golden? Either way I was certainly glad to see Russian River was included in the Beer Camp festivities as they are certainly one of Americas greatest craft breweries and certainly always trying to push the envelope. Yvan The Great comes in at 6.3% ABV and 50 IBUs.

Appearance: Bright golden yellow, very hazy with a small 1/2 finger head as expected from the style. Not much lacing to report.

Taste/Mouth: Fruity Belgian yeast flavors up front carrying over from the nose. Barnyard and apple flavors very present as well. Hops add some bitterness to the mouth and some citrusy and earthy notes to the flavor. Has a medium body and moderate carbonation. Finishes a little bitter and spicy.

Price/Availability: As with all of the Beer Camp Collabs this is a one time only deal. Price of 12 pack was around $28.

Overall: Wish these two breweries went with a different style still. This obviously a well crafted beer but it was nothing special for me and doesn’t feel like a huge collab between two of the best American breweries. As with many of the beers in the pack it was good just not anything mindblowing.